Winter's Heart
by leviofliccat
Summary: The Winter Solstice. That was when my life became hell. Mysty is one of the High Fae of the Autumn Court: fiery, arrogant, and fierce. A respected messenger of the High Lord Beron, she is allowed out once to the Winter territory to celebrate the Solstice. But when she is sent on a suicide mission, she must utilise her strength, use her talents, and save the one she loves. AU
1. Winter Solstice

"Mysty, stop playing with your hair and get down here!" A loud voice echoed down the long corridor. I sighed, fixing up the last of my hair before twirling out the door, locking it, and sprinting down to the front entrance of the house. I grinned at the ginger-haired Fae beside me, and looked out to the deep night sky, flecked with stars. I raced out to the spot on the path leading to the Winter Court where Beron would winnow us, my pastel dress floating behind me, and beckoned for my friend to follow. In a flurry of leaves, we were winnowed to about twenty metres from the border. I nodded to my High Lord before turning, and heading down to the border. As the border grew closer, a tiny snowflake crossed it, floating down to just in front of us before bursting into flame. Beron's protective magic, of course.

"I've always wondered what it's like in the Winter Court." I murmured. "Here, it's warm, and comfortingly beautiful." My gaze drifted back to the border, which was now only a few metres away. "I think it'll be beautiful too, but in a different way." I shivered slightly at the close proximity to the cold. "Maybe even more so at this year's Winter Solstice." I looked back at Alyx, my hand wavering over the invisible borderline. "Are you ready?" I asked, my voice quavering in excitement. A wide grin was all I needed before I shoved him forwards, through the border, and into the Winter Court.

I didn't even have the strength to gasp, for all energy I had was paralysed in complete shock. Delicate snowflakes drifted gracefully from the sky, ice glinted on rooftops and lanterns, and laughter bounced in the crisp air. In the distance I could just see the icy tips of the High Lord of the Winter Court's palace. I finally gathered enough consciousness to gasp loudly, and a huge smile spread across my face. A mimicked, overly dramatic gasp echoed from beside me, and I turned and punched Alyx in the shoulder. I could have sworn I heard a snicker emit from the trees, but I shook it off. _Probably just a tree wraith._ I thought. He smirked, and looked down towards the palace.

"Shall we head towards the celebrations?" He asked, starting to step forwards. I had barely lifted my foot before a thought hit me. _Wait, tree wraiths don't hang out in the cold here, with all the leaf-less trees._ I held up a hand to Alyx, who lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "Mysty, what's the holdup?" I pressed a finger to my lips, my pointed ears straining. He obliged my silent command, his own ears twitching. Suddenly, a quiet rustle in the trees before us filled our sensitive ears, followed by a muttered, "Shit." I gestured for Alyx to circle round the opposite side to trap whatever the creature was. More rustles, more muttered curses. Quick as a flash, I leapt to beside the fae, scaring her, causing her to scamper away backwards, straight into Alyx's arms, which he pinned her down with. The fae squirmed and kicked, her face contorting into rude expressions as she glared at me. Calmly lowering myself to sit on my heels, I gripped her chin, pulling it upwards to face me. She winced, but kept her irritating glare aimed at me. Smiling softly, I looked into her icy, blue-grey eyes.

"Hello," I murmured, my mask's voice warm and silky, so unlike my usual bubbling laugh, as I examined her pointed features. _High fae,_ I realised, as she thrashed her legs. Alyx simply sat on her ankles. "We're not really allowed to be trapping Winter losers like you, mainly because this isn't our territory, and it _is_ the Winter Solstice after all." I gave her a smile with pointed teeth. "But it's not like your _High Lord_ is going to come running to save you, will he?" Fear flickered in the fae's eyes for a moment, before turning back into the stupid pride she loved so dearly. My smile dropped into a snarl, dropping her head and standing up, Alyx following suit. The fae slowly stood, her silvery hair flowing down her face: a cold mask of hatred, still glaring at us. "You know, if we were like the rest of the Autumn Court, we would kill you brutally right where you stand. But, we're not, so happy times for you. I'm sure we'll meet again." I turned on my heel, auburn hair shimmering behind me, and started walking towards the palace once more.

"Give me your name." She growled quietly. I stopped, looking over my shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

"Give me your name." She repeated, glaring even more daggers at me.

"And why would I do that? So you can go babble to your High Lord about it?" I snickered.

She hissed angrily. "No, you idiot. Why the hell would I go to the stupid High Lord and gossip about you two _trespassers_ ," she snarled the last word, "And look like a silly little fae trying to get his attention by making up wild stories? So just give me your name so I'll remember you." I giggled, rolling my eyes at her stupidity.

"Do you really think we'd fall for that?" I smiled, looking at her. "We belong to different Courts. I'm not telling Winter Court idiots who I am." I grinned, the venomous side of the Autumn Court glowing in my fiery amber eyes. I felt a tug on my sleeve, and turned to look at Alyx, an irritated look on my face.

"Mysty, we should get going." He murmured, his face too, a mask. I nodded, setting off towards the palace, the celebrations. I didn't look back at the faerie who whispered,

" _Autumn scum."_

The rest of the Solstice was spent exploring Winter territory without looking like we were spies, meeting kind little ice faeries, and dancing and laughing until the sun rose. As the first splashes of dawn peeked over the horizon, I sighed, watching the celebrations begin to die down. Slowly trudging back to the border, I glanced at the clump of trees where we first met that fae. I stared at it for a long-drawn moment, before we crossed the border and disappeared into a mass of swirling leaves.


	2. Message

**Thanks for the review, curlygirly! You'll see what happens in the next chapter! ;)  
**

Sunlight streamed weakly through the orange-tinted glass of the Throne Room of the Autumn Court. I stood at my messenger's post, somewhat close to Beron's throne. I gave Alyx a small smirk to where he stood on the other side of the room, and he stuck his tongue out at my higher rank. His face quickly dropped to neutral as the giant, acacia doors burst open. A huge ripple of power flooded through the room, reminding us all of the power he held. Though not as much as the Night Court's High Lord. I shook the thought from my mind as my High Lord entered the room grandly, his crown of autumn leaves sitting atop his brown hair, his cape of rough, but light fabric drifting behind him in the small breeze. My High Lady stood beside him, her auburn bangs framing her beautiful face. The court bowed in unison, keeping our heads lowered in respect as they walked towards the thrones. In my peripheral vision, I glanced around quickly for any signs of the other messengers, for Kayle, or the other well-known messenger, Kara. I saw no sign of them, their places near the throne empty. Shrugging it off, and telling myself that they were most likely sick, I listened to Beron.

"Well." He seemed displeased. "Looks like you've finally learnt how to bow properly."

Nobody moved. Beron didn't react. He probably knew that we were all terrified of him.

I kept staring at the swirling patterns on the marble floor, and almost jumped in fright as he halted in front of me. Not showing any emotion, I glued my eyes to the vague outline of a maple leaf in the shining marble.

"You." His voice boomed through the large throne room, and I knew his eyes were on me. But I kept my head down. "You're the new messenger." Not a question. A statement. I inclined my head very slightly, strands of hair falling over my shoulders. "Rise." A command not to the court, but to me only. I stood, surprised my body wasn't shaking like hell. Although, I kept my head bowed. I felt him step closer. "Look at me, fae." I slowly lifted my chin to look up at his pointed face.

"I have a task for you. I need you to go to the Winter Court and give a message to their High Lord." He paused. "Tell him that his Winter magic is coming over the border, into our territory. He needs to stop it." He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but closed it quickly. "Naiomi will take you to the border." Another High Fae gripped my arm faster than I could react, and winnowed us away.

I stumbled away from Naiomi, who's face was cold and emotionless. Again, before I could say anything, she disappeared, and I was left alone at the Winter border once more. It had only been a few days since the Solstice, and already I was heading back into dangerous territory. Literally. Smirking at my own pun, I looked around at the border, with the mountains not too far to my right. Stepping through the border, I felt magic shimmering around me, sealing the border behind me. I spun around, pushing against the invisible border. Nothing happened. I couldn't go back. I hammered a fist against the wall of magic, and pressed a palm against it as I realised what had happened. Beron never intended for me to return. A low sigh escaped me, my breath condensing and turning into fog. _I guess I'll go deliver that message, then._ I thought, gritting my teeth as I stormed off towards the palace of ice.


	3. Winter

**Thanks for all the views, guys! I'm really happy that you've found my story! Please review! :)  
**

A chill ran down my spine as I approached the gigantic palace. I didn't know whether it was from the cold, or something else. Tall, icy gates swung open as I neared them, providing full view of the stunning Winter Court.

Snowflakes drifted to the ground as I admired the smooth, white path, made of a material I couldn't quite place that twisted down the garden, towards the palace doors. Abstract ice sculptures decorated the area, in between beautiful, tall trees, with rich brown trunks and magic coating the branches and their leaves. A small pond sat a little away from me, the edge frozen over, slowly crawling its way towards the centre. The grass was of the palest shade of green you could find, and glittering frost adorned every single thing.

My eyes drifted back to the palace doors, which were made of deep mahogany, so beautifully contrasted against the pale ice. I touched my boot to the path, which felt sturdy, but slippery, due to the large amounts of ice covering it. Slowly, but carefully, I walked down the path, my eyes fixed on the doors. Two High Fae stood guard at either side, cleaved in thick fighting leathers, mace in hand. I felt their eyes on me as I approached them, but I kept my eyes straight ahead, my mask of Autumn fire falling over my face. The enormous doors were engraved with swirls and markings, beautifully decorated the once simple wood. I had barely opened my mouth before the two nodded at me, swinging the huge doors open to reveal me to the entire Winter Court.

I had to admit, the throne room was jaw-dropping. Most of the room was indeed made of ice, reflecting cool light around the room, causing hundreds of tiny rainbows to dance about. The floor was a polished pale blue, with small patterns of aquamarine gemstones engraved. The doors thumped shut behind me, and I tried not to flinch as I felt hundreds of eyes flick to settle on me. Though the sheer amount of Winter High Fae in my presence made me feel uneasy, I lifted my eyes from the floor to meet the ones of the High Lord of the Winter Court. As his piercing blue eyes snapped onto mine, my stomach dropped. There was something in those eyes that wasn't kind, nor merciless. Something I had seen in the souls of ruthless Lower faeries I had met a long, long time ago. Something that I should be staying well away from.

"Mysty." An even, cold voice sent shivers up my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck bristling. But I never took my eyes off the pair that were staring just as intently back at me. "That is your name, correct?" Still, I showed no emotion or change of stature as he spoke from the opposite side of the room, still seated in his magnificent icy throne. He waited for a response. I gave him nothing. _You're going to have to try harder than that,_ I spat at him in my mind. He resumed speaking, showing no reaction of the fact I didn't reply, probably thinking that I was either terrified of him, or just an arrogant Autumn fae. I didn't think about either. "Are you not cold?" He inquired, gesturing to my bare arms. I only shrugged in response. Somehow, in this hellish cold, I wasn't freezing to death. Strange, but I didn't dwell on it. "Come closer." He commanded, beckoning me to him. I still didn't move a muscle. _I'm not a stupid canine, Kallias._ A flick of a finger and I was shoved forwards by two High Fae, whose faces I didn't dare to look, keeping my glowing amber irises locked onto the freezing blue ones. The faeries halted as I reached the throne, standing behind me, blocking the exit. I took no notice though, for something in the High Lord's expression shifted. Suddenly, a searing pain shot down my leg, and I cried out, breaking eye contact, and falling onto my knees. A deep gash dug into my right calf, from the knee down to the ankle. I looked back at the High Fae who stood behind me, and noted that the one to my right's icy sword was smothered in crimson blood. _My blood,_ I realised. I looked up at Kallias in shock, and one more click of his slender fingers sent me tumbling into the dungeon.


	4. Dungeon

**Hey to my few readers! Thanks you so much for your reviews, curlygirly, SparksofBravery and acomafan! I really appreciate your support! And to acomafan, that's not exactly where I was going but that's an interesting idea! C:**

 **~leviofliccat**

My long eyelashes slowly fluttered open, my eyes adapting to the dark. In the near pitch-black, I could vaguely make out the outline of a door, which was shut firmly. I looked around for the tiny source of light I was seeing with, but found nothing. Suddenly, brightness flooded the tiny room, immersing me in a bluish glow. I flinched back, and grimaced at the pain that shuddered through my leg. Shielding my face against the white light, I shuffled back a little, but left my leg where it was, the gash sticky and tingling from the sudden breeze. Peering between my fingers, I saw the silhouette of a tall, muscled fae, who carried some sort of large object. The door slammed shut behind them, engulfing us in darkness. I felt them move closer, and heard the faint scraping of metal on ice. I squirmed back more, hitting my back on the icy wall behind me. The noise grew louder and closer, and I drew my legs up to my chest, fear blooming within me, spiralling throughout my entire body, the pain in my leg forgotten. My breathing became staggered, my heart thundering, my blood pumping.

A loud, heavy laugh resonated through the walls of the dungeon, and in the faint light I saw a huge mace in the fae's hands, slowly moving up to above their shoulder, where they would bring it down with paramount force, right onto my head. I saw a flash of sharp teeth, and a glimmer of ravenous, murderous intent, and at the glowing pair of silver eyes that seemed to smile so terribly. My breath caught, and time seemed to slow. The light grew brighter, white and yellow and orange and red, all at once. I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists, leaving white marks against my hot skin. The mace was getting closer, down to my head, down to crush my skull. A fire I'd never felt before bloomed deep in my chest, blossoming out, pulsating through my arms, my hands, my fingers. My bright, fiery eyes shot up to meet the ones of the fae, and in the terrified reflection of his irises I caught a glimpse of a flaming girl, determination spread across her face. I gave him a sly smirk, before time resumed its normal pace, with me shoving my entire body up into his torso, grabbing the mace from his limp hands, and pinning him down with one arm.

Fire glazed over my eyes, my whole body radiating a strong, orange glow, my left hand bright on his chest. I raised the arm holding the mace, and glared straight at the shaking fae. My terror had transformed into pure fire, his eyes widening as my skin grew hotter. My face remained neutral, my gaze lazily flicking to my hand, which was slowly burning a hole in his tunic. He began to sweat, panic building up inside him as my fire burned closer and closer to his skin. I pushed harder, the mace blisteringly hot, slipping from my sweaty hand. The fae let out a terrible, howling scream as the heat started to burn his chest, right atop where his heart was. I growled, feral hunger gleaming in my eyes as I moved the mace to over his head, ready to bring it down.

Suddenly, a huge gust of freezing air burst into the room, extinguishing my fire and knocking me back off the fae. I hissed, my amber eyes darting around the room, searching for the source of the wind, before landing on the silhouette of a tall, slender fae. I scanned them, straining my eyes to see through the dark, the orange light no more. I didn't need to look for long, as the fae stepped into the dark, clicking their fingers to summon light into the room. I flinched, my eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness. I squinted at the High Fae as she leant over to peer at the fae on the ground, tunic smoking. I started to crawl towards them, but an icy glare stopped me in my tracks. Her blue-grey eyes seemed to glimmer in the cold light, like a thousand ice shards pieced together to form a sparkling crystal. Her gaze pierced through me like an ash blade, tearing my soul apart piece by piece. I held her glare, searching in those icy eyes for anything, something that would tell who she was, why she was here.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, until something in my brain clicked. My eyebrows shot up in astonishment as I recognised the shape of her eyes, the light in her dark pupils. My breath hitched, and I clenched my teeth as I watched the cold High Fae remember me. She narrowed her eyes, and breathed,

"Hello, Mysty."

Her gaze remained tough as she nudged the fae on the floor with her foot.

"Axel. Always such a lame guard. He never knew what he was doing. Well, for the few months he's trained."

He was panting heavily, still recovering from what I did. _What I did._ I thought absentmindedly. I gasped as I comprehended what had happened, and tore my eyes away from the female to stare in horror at the scorches on the male's chest. His grey tunic was smouldering softly, a pink patch right over his heart. I clapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes wide as I soaked in the situation. I thrust my hands out in front of me, staring at my warm skin, where I once held flames. I whirled around to face the female, still bound by shock, and cried,

"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't know what I was doing, and I-"

The High Fae simply stared at me with that same frosty look, and shook her head slowly. My stomach dropped to the floor as she snickered slightly, still shaking her head. I glared at her, putting my hands on my hips as she spoke.

"You're so stupid, you know." She smirked, glancing at the fae at her feet. "You were _supposed_ to be punished for trespassing into Winter territory, taking it willingly, knowing what you'd done. You were _supposed_ to be knocked out enough so that I could drag you to my residence and slowly torture you to death. It's not that hard." She narrowed her eyes at me. "But of _course_ , as the _stupid_ little Autumn fae you are, you _have_ to come along and nearly kill this guard. You just _have_ to make life harder for everyone, don't you?" She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I suppose you'll have to come with me. I'll have to hurt you first, though. Otherwise we'll look suspicious." She extended a hand. I didn't move. She sighed again, dropping her arm. "That is, if you want to get out of this miserable dungeon." I stayed standing a metre away from her, taking in what she just offered. Questions churned in my brain, pushing and screaming to get out of my mouth, but only one was allowed access.

"Why are you doing this?"

The fae sighed even more, putting her head in her hand. She looked at me under her hand, and laughed,

"I'm offering you freedom. A chance to escape from being a prisoner for the rest of your life in this hellhole we call Kallias' palace, and get back to your loved ones. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

I glanced at her once again raised arm. Moments passed, and time stood still as I contemplated whether to take her pale hand or not.

Suddenly, a loud shout rumbled through the walls, the source most likely wherever was outside. Heavy footsteps thundered on the floor, getting louder every second. My heart pounding, I flicked my eyes back to the fae girl, and nodded once. She simply blinked in response as I grabbed her hand, letting myself be drawn into her arms, her cold breath on my neck, where she placed a tremendously light finger.

"This won't hurt a bit." I nodded again, and she pressed down on the soft part of my neck, sending freezing sparks down my spine, pain flaring in my head. I blinked at her slowly fading face, looking into those frosty blue-grey eyes once more. Her gaze was cold, piercing, as I heard the creaking of a door opening and yells echoed nearby, but deep inside those eyes I saw warmth, and caring. I smiled a little to myself, before closing my eyes one last time and embracing the icy pain.


	5. Memory

***Hey guys! I'm soooooo sorry I haven't updated in months, and I apologise deeply. School has been extremely busy, and I've recently come back from a 4 week holiday overseas. Please forgive me!  
Also, I'm turning this fanfic into an original story, as it has no relevance to the plot of ACOTAR/ACOMAF whatsoever. Please by patient with me! I'll try to upload it on Inkitt (search leviofliccat) and maybe FictionPress.  
As always, thank you so much to the few people who read this story! It means a lot to me!**

 **~leviofliccat**

 _"_ _Why is that girl from the dungeon in your house?"_

 _"_ _Why not?"_

 _"_ _What are you planning to do with her? She's not yours."_

 _"_ _That's none of your business. Why do you care so much?"_

 _"_ _I'm just saying that I don't think – no, I_ know _that it's a bad idea to keep her here."_

 _"_ _And how would you know that?"_

 _"_ _That's none of your business."_

The voices were cloudy and the words were hard to make out. Though, from what I could hear, I figured there were two people talking to each other somewhere nearby, a girl and a boy. My eyelids felt like lead, and there was a spot on my neck that throbbed terribly. The voices were getting softer now as I struggled to keep consciousness. Managing to finally strain my eyes open a little bit, I made to move a hand to my neck to massage the pain away, however my action was cut short as I felt a stiff metal cuff around my wrists, and apparently also around my ankles. Instead, I turned my head to face my right, where I saw the blurry shapes of the two figures talking. One had long, silvery hair, and was quite tall, wearing a simple white tunic and pants, while the other was around the same height, with light blonde hair and some sort of warrior's armour. They were still in conversation, and the silver-haired girl seemed to be spitting more insults at the guy, her hands on her hips. The blonde boy seemed to be defending himself, and to be honest, the scene was rather funny. A small giggle escaped my lips, my eyes beginning to flutter shut again, but my eyes snapped open as suddenly, the girl whirled towards me and started walking over to me. My smirk dropped into a questioning frown as she reached me in a matter of seconds, closely followed by the boy, who stared at me with a look I couldn't quite place. I furrowed my brow at him.

"You tried to kill me. Why are you here?" I snarled, attempting to glare at him while lying down, which didn't exactly work.

"That's what I tried to ask." The girl answered for him, which earned a nasty look from him in return. She gave him a glare, then turned back to me. Without warning, she pressed her fingers to my neck, and I flinched away, but it felt like she was draining away the pain. She stepped back, clicking her fingers to release the binds around my wrists and ankles, letting me sit up on what I now recognised as not a bed, but a…table?

I looked back up at the two fae, who I could now see clearly. The girl's face was expressionless, but one look into her eyes and I remembered her instantly. I looked her over once, deciding she couldn't be much older then me. Then again, High Fae don't age much visibly. She nodded at me as I flicked my gaze to the boy. Something about him was familiar, from before the dungeon incident. I looked into his eyes, and those glittering pair of silver irises stared back, but I had a feeling he was hiding something, something nobody but him knew. Narrowing my eyes at him, all I got in return was a stuck out tongue. I opened my mouth to snarl a rude remark, but was interrupted by a heavy sigh.

Both of us snapped our heads around to see a tired-looking fae folding her arms.

"Can both of you please behave yourselves and stop acting like idiots?"

I mentally glared at her, but shot one last scowl at the guard before turning to face her, my hands on my hips.

"Thank you. Now please listen to me. I need to ask you something." She sighed, looking at the High Fae who had just turned to leave. "This involves you too, stupid. Now get back here before I freeze your balls off." She smirked as he froze and slowly turned his attention back to the girl. "Good." I stiffened as she suddenly whipped her gaze to lock onto mine though I kept a cool demeanour as she leisurely crept towards me, her eyes scanning me as she stalked around me, eventually ending up facing me once more. "You have good muscles, and seem to be quite agile, but…" she trailed off, her gaze flicking over me again. _Who the hell does she is, talking about me like that?!_ I tensed, trying extremely hard not to yell at her. "But how do you explain the fire? It's unusual for a fae like _you_ to have… _special_ abilities." She spat the word out as if it was poison, and I snarled.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Her eyes narrowed, and a sharp, heavy force jammed into my stomach, knocking the air out of me and shoving me backwards. I gasped, an arm clutching my middle as a grin crept upon my face. I stared up at her, slowly standing up fully, a hand reaching to my weapon. Though it only found air. I stared at my empty belt, my trusty double-bladed axe and daggers relieved from me.

"Missing something?" Looking up again, I noticed a smirk on the fae's face as she watched me realise I was unarmed, but that smirk soon faded as I laughed quietly. Some sort of terrible gleam shaded my eyes, making them seem blood red, as I hissed, my voice scarily soft,

"You think _that_ could match what I've felt in the torture sites of Dalburgh?" I laughed again, even quieter, watching the look of shock slowly crawl upon her face. I felt my fingertips begin to heat up as I clenched my jaw, pointed teeth flashing.

"I-I didn't know you were from Dalburgh!" The girl murmured, her eyes flicking to my hands while backing away into the guard, who stood bravely with a hand at his mace, though fear still lingered in his eyes. I let out a terrifying growl, fire now dancing in my raised palms. I turned my head to gaze into the flickering flame.

"Six hundred and seventy-four years." I whispered, my expression falling neutral. I could vaguely hear a gasp emit from the two in front of me. " _Six hundred_ and _seventy-four years._ " I snarled, my gaze sharpening as my heart wrenched. I snapped my eyes back to lock onto the girl's. "Six hundred and seventy-four goddamn years of being put through _excruciating_ pain, just for the pleasure of five _monsters_." My voice cracked at the end of the sentence as I relived the lashings, the beatings, the cracking of bones, and most vividly of all, the laughter. The psychotic laughter rang through my ears as I lost control of the fire, shooting it out as a stream of scorching, crimson fire, heading directly for the two fae. They jumped out of the way, letting it burn the cold stone table behind them. Everything turned hazy as I shoved my palms onto my temples, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to stop the screaming, the laughter, the pain, the blinding pain, it flowed everywhere in my body, in my scars, in my head, in my chest, every part of my body was shrieking in agony, and I just wanted it to stop, everything to stop… "JUST STOP! STOP IT!" Then everything went black as the fire finally engulfed me and my memories.


End file.
